rudolf krüger

Esther Horn’s paintings show an exciting, new and contemporary synthesis of figuration and abstraction while seizing elements of tradition and modernity. Graphical and painterly means are balanced inasmuch as they are positioned against one another, in complex energetic friction. Particularly in the latest series of paintings, line and plane enter a delicate alliance, which but unites - and in unifying, generates - a masterful layout of space, marauding color shapes, figure and ground, figurative references.

The painterly here expresses itself in strong colors and rich gradation. In some works unusual framings and perspectives render the space of the image dynamic, irritating the viewer, while others radiate calm and contemplation. They all have in common a highly delicate treatment of light, based on varnished application of paint. This light makes the pictures shine, giving them their sensual quality - even in the series which focuses on darkness and night.

The murals, for which Esther Horn uses charcoal, (e.g. What you see, is what you don’t, Würzburg, 2014; Über Land, Erfurt, 2005; Point of view, Münster, 2002) demonstrate the artist’s power and reveal that she comes from drawing. Just as her acrylic wall paintings (e.g. Cave 3/Identity, Fürth, 2013, or Cave, Stockholm, 2009), these works encourage the visitor to actively explore the exhibition space and to discover ever new points of view and new relations, as though in a hermeneutic circle. Referring back to topics and motifs of art history, a multi-layered discourse about art and form discretely accompanies the works. Combined with embedded paintings and animations on screen, the exhibition displays create an environment that conveys the versatility and strong individual language of the artist.